


Moffat, Alex Kingston, and River Song

by ilovealexkingston



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms
Genre: Gen, Meta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-29
Updated: 2013-04-29
Packaged: 2017-12-09 23:04:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/778986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilovealexkingston/pseuds/ilovealexkingston
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Meta on Doctor Who Series Five through Present</p>
            </blockquote>





	Moffat, Alex Kingston, and River Song

**  
**

It occurred to me the other day that Steven Moffat is a genius.  Brilliant really when you think about how he developed the character of River Song.

 

He created River Song a long time ago when he was working under Russell T. Davies.  Originally, the part was created as a two episode arc.

Alex Kingston even thought it was only for those two episodes.  He named her after an episode title he created on a lark with Davies, when he fell in love with the name and started creating the woman to go with it. Influenced by Audrey Niffenneger’s novel The Time Traveler’s Wife, Moffat created a backward-in-time love interest for the Doctor.  He also decided she was the child of a future companion, all so he'd have a character with multiple levels. River’s life ended with her sacrifice in The Library, but Moffat and Davies both talked about bringing her back in Season Four.  It didn't happen and it looked like she was gone.

 

Or so we thought.

 

And then Moffat was tapped as show runner for Doctor Who.

 

One of the first people he rehired to shoot was Alex Kingston, saying he needed someone who was part of the old Doctor and experienced enough to help out the relative newcomers, Matt Smith and Karen Gillan. 

 

Intriguing and with enough chemistry to burn a building down, River Song and the Doctor blazed through two episodes and captured the interest (and hearts) of viewers old and new.

 

Great call, Moffat.

 

But that’s not all.

 

Now he could create the companions who would be River's parents.  He created the surname Pond to tie with River.  Worried that he might not be able to keep both Karen and Arthur, he gave the name to Amy, figuring he had a better chance of having Karen stay. And so Moffat created the family dynamic that surprised and stunned us in the following season.  Amy Pond was River Song's mother.

 

Working with what you have— another check in the brilliant box, Moffat.

 

 

Yet perhaps the most brilliant call of all was involving Alex in the subterfuge of who River Song is.  Moffat told Alex that River is the Doctor’s wife as soon as she came back for Season Five.  Midway in the season, Moffat then told her that River was Amy and Rory's child. He also instructed her not to divulge that fact to anyone, most certainly not her cast mates.

 

You see, this was genius because by telling Alex not to spill “spoilers,” Moffat was creating the persona of River Song IN Alex.  Alex was now “thinking” like River Song even off-camera, off-set. 

 

Her fellow cast members tried to get her to tell them, offering favours and trying to pry her secrets from her.   But Alex prevailed.

 

The thing is, when an actor has to live out a character in real life, subtle things happen.  The character becomes ingrained and sometimes the actor’s personality merges with the character. The actor tends to think better about what the character is, thinks more like the character thinks and brings all that to the screen when shooting.  You see more in facial reactions and more comfort in the role.  She no longer has to think about the character’s motivation because it’s second hand. 

 

Steven Moffat has even said in the premiere for “Let's Kill Hitler” that Alex started thinking like River, covering her body mike when talking to him about any spoilers.  He points out how inspired Alex’s portrayal of River Song and her affection and care for Amy is in “Time of Angels” and “Flesh and Stone”. “The Impossible Astronaut” Alex also tried to react as Amy's daughter with Karen when the Doctor is shot. However, Karen Gillan was confused by the reaction and so Alex (as River) buried the reaction along with the secrets she has to keep.   Arthur Darvill correctly guessed River's identity and but still was not quite certain of the degree of accuracy.  He surmised that Alex had taken on River's responsibility of telling lies to protect sensitive spoilers. Moreover, In interviews and conventions, Alex has shown that she has given thought to other possibilities for River such as if not the Doctor, who River could possibly end up with (Capt. Jack), and is said to want a spin-off with River and Capt. Jack in it.  

 

In the end, we all win since we are given a great well-fleshed out character. 

 

All thanks to the genius of Moffat.

 

Thanks, Moffat.

 

Next time, could we see more River/Doctor please?

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to Kerjen for her input and support.
> 
> This work has been crossposted to my tumblr account.


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